Abandoning Ship
by DrMcPerky
Summary: Arizona contemplates the storm that is brewing between her and Callie while taking a shower. "Sometimes, being a good man in a storm is knowing when to abandon ship." Post 6x19. UPDATE: NOW COMPLETE! Watch for a sequel!
1. Ch 1: You, my dear, have butt dimples

**Title:** Abandoning Ship

**Author:** DrMcPerky (LJ & FF)

**Rating:** PG-13

**Pairing:** Callie/Arizona

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. I don't own, I rent.

**Summary:** Arizona contemplates the storm that is brewing between her and Callie while taking a shower. "Sometimes, being a good man in a storm is knowing when to abandon ship." (This takes place while Arizona is in the shower at the end of 6x19. SPOILERS.)

**A/N:** This is my first fic! Woohoo! It's a short and quick one but I am nevertheless excited, relieved and terrified! All of the calzona writers on here and FF are so awesome - so thank you all for posting your wonderful stories and inspiring me to dip my toe into the water. I decided to write this in somewhat of a stream of consciousness manner so all of the italics are Arizona's thoughts as they happen (which is why they're random sometimes). This is also why she doesn't go into any explanations and merely hints at things (they're HER thoughts so she doesn't need to explain them the way I see it). Also, please don't hate me for this but I don't intend on continuing this story as I meant for it to be a short snapshot into that moment we missed on the show. Suggestions for improvement are very welcome! (I'm not sure how I feel about the stream of consciousness or how I could make it better.) R&R=luv.

Special Thanks to **coliebearz** for the encouragement and beta-ing. :D

* * *

She takes a deep breath in. Facing the running water, Arizona leans forward, submerging her head under the strong pressure of the stream. Rolling her neck around, she lets the steaming hot water run over her shoulders as she reaches a hand up to rub the tight muscle.

_My shoulders are so tight. Gonna have to make another appointment with Bensham. God is that man amazing at giving massages. Oh, I'll have to remember to check the schedule tomorrow. I don't THINK I have any surgeries scheduled in the afternoon. Hm, I may just have time to do it during lunch - _

Leaning back from the water slightly, she opens her eyes and stares down at the glass door as if looking through the bathroom floor's tile.

_Lunch…. It's lunch's fault. If it weren't for the cafeteria and always seeing her there and diving into and hiding in nearby on-call rooms. And vending machines! Evil caloric deathtraps. Not to mention poundcake... Oh! And the awkward silences? Those are the worst! If it weren't for all of that it totally wouldn't be noticeable that I'm avoiding her. Well… not HER, the chicken. _

Arizona cringes and slaps her forehead, "I mean BABY." Shaking her head in exasperation, "Ugh, what is it with me and CHICKENS," She reaches for her loofah and begins to pour a swirl of Herbal Essence Mango bodywash but stops.

_Baby. That word is so….. neeYikes. I mean, they're just 'tiny humans.' Or at least that's what I've tried so hard to make it all mean for me. Not something that you create with immense love and hope for the future with your best friend and lover only to have it ripped away from you._

Her hands move the loofah over her body roughly and angrily.

_Breaking YOU and then your fiancée, tearing apart your relationship and changing the way you view the world. I don't think I could survive feeling that way again. _

Covered in suds, Arizona turns, lifting her hair so the water can wash the suds from her back. She reaches her hand back and lazily wipes at the frothy soap, rubbing the dimples in her back. A small smile escapes from the side of her mouth for a moment, remembering what Calliope had said to her during their first shower together.

***

_Callie moves the over-sudded loofah over Arizona's lower back, watching the white Mango-scented soap cling to her soft, firm skin. Suddenly she stops and gasps, "you have them HERE too?" A big grin sneaks onto her face, her beautiful brown eyes as big as saucers. Arizona shakes her head, "what?" _

_Almost before she can complete the word, Callie has spun her around and begins to investigate her back just like she would a broken bone. "Um, hey!" Arizona laughs, "Mind telling me what you're doing back there __**DR.**__ Torres?" _

_A giggle escapes Callie's lips. She has a look of supreme satisfaction on her face, "YOU, my dear have butt dimples." _

"_I have WHAT?" Arizona spins around like a puppy chasing its tail, craning her head to see the source of Calliope's smug grin and now her laughter. "Are butt dimples a GOOD thing? 'Cause to me they kinda sound like cellulite and I know that everyone has it - even those scrawnymovie stars who spend too much money on plastic surgery - but I go to the gym on a regular basis. I have a routine on the evil, evil stairmaster, just so I never have to worry about having butt dimples appear out of nowhere in the shower," exasperated and out of breath, she gulps in some air, "So no. You're wrong. Arizona Robbins does not have butt dimples!"_

_Callie reaches out and stops the revolving Arizona who is now sporting a horrified/sheepish grin, "You, are SO cute!" _

_***  
_

Cold water shocks Arizona out of her reverie. She quickly realizes that tears are falling down her face but she chooses not to wipe them away. Her hand strikes out at the shower knob, turning off the freezing cold water. Tossing the loofah back on its suction cup hook, she dives out of the shower, swiftly wrapping herself up with her favorite blue towel.

_Man, the lifespan of hot water around here is next to nil._

Grabbing a second towel off the shelf, she wraps her hair up in it. She turns towards the sink and grabs her electric toothbrush, wetting it and squishing out toothpaste with surgical precision. It hums to life.

_I hate brushing my teeth. I always gag on the toothbrush. Yuck. Then again, I've always had a bad gag reflex._

She chuckles outloud.

_Oh, Danny would have had several jokes to make about THAT. _

Shaking her head, she looks back at the mirror slowly, the sudden sadness for her brother's death crossing her face.

_You've got to tell her, Arizona. You're a good man in a storm and right now, the storm is brewing. If you are going to abandon ship, now's the time to do it. 'Cause doing anything else is just not fair to Callie._

The electric toothbrush clicks off and Arizona leans over the sink, clearing her mouth of the toothpaste. When she looks back up, she sees the bags under her eyes; her shoulders slouch.

_That's not what I want……at if it's the only way to keep Callie from suffering the way I did..._

Arizona lowers her head and heads out of the bathroom. Beelining it for the moisturizer on the dresser, she notices Callie out of the corner of her eye.

_Wow, her hair is so beautiful. Actually it looks pretty perfect. Kinda too perfect just for bed actually…_

She tucks her legs under her as she sits on the bed, pumping lotion onto her hand.

_Oh, awkward silence. _

Callie glances at Arizona, making eye contact.

_Oh great, an even awkwarder glance and more awkwardy silence. Maybe I can avoid this discussion for tonight, but in the morning, I need to tell her. I can't take anymore of these awkward silences._

Suddenly the silence is broken as Arizona blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

"Do you ever wonder if moisturizer really works? I mean, what's in this stuff. I'm a doctor and I haven't even heard of half of it. Uh… Dimethicone?" She pauses. "No idea! Dysterial… Dimer… Um, yeah I can't pronounce that, so…"

"I want to have a baby."

_Well, shit. Maybe I should have mentioned poundcake instead._

"And I can't talk about lotion or poundcake or anything else because you don't want to have a baby and I do."

Arizona felt a huge pang in her chest, her throat catching.

_So, all jokes aside, I guess this is it. The moment I have been dreading for almost a week. The moment for which I have been stuffing my face full of poundcake and donuts for 7 whole days trying to avoid even THINKING about the loss of a child, MY child. _

She looked at her Calliope, crestfallen.

_My beautiful Calliope. I don't think I could ever see the light fizzle from your eyes the way it did from mine. I could never put you through that especially when I'm not strong enough to go through that myself._

"So… We're gonna talk about. "

"Yeah," Callie nods. "We are gonna talk about it."

_Sometimes, being a good man in a storm is knowing when to abandon ship._


	2. Ch 2: Donuts and Drags

**Title:** Abandoning Ship (2/?)

**Author:** DrMcPerky (LJ & FF)

**Rating:** PG-13

**Pairing:** Callie/Arizona

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.I don't own, I rent.

**Summary:** Arizona contemplates what happened after The Talk (619 spoilers) and opens up to a new friend as a result. This is the sequel to Abandoning Ship although you don't need to have read that one in order to get this one.

**A/N:** So I didn't really want to do a linear, multi-chaptered story BUT as I was listening to Tegan & Sara "Call it Off" came on and this story was the result. I kinda like the stream of consciousness thing going on so in this and future chapters we may just see some stream of consciousness from others. Suggestions for improvement and encouragement are most welcome! (and there's a little tip of the hat in here to another series I love. Props to those who catch it!) The songs mentioned in this are Call it Off by Tegan & Sara and Alone by Celine Dion. The ending song is Over and Over by Rachael Yamagata. The three of those I just love.

Walking down the street just outside of Seattle Grace Hospital had become routine for Arizona. She had gotten used to staying over at the Ortho's apartment and even gotten used to Yang's incessant sarcasm and cynicism which Arizona actually found more endearing than annoying. But tonight, the walk was different. As she walked to her car, the tears threatened to fall and she bit her lip in an attempt to suppress them.

_I just need to get to the car. Get to the car, Arizona. Don't think about it. Focus on NOT thinking about it…… What else can I think about to distract me??_

Uproarious laughter grabs her attention. A group of interns is sitting on the benches just outside of SGH laughing and having a good time recounting their trials and tribulations from the day.

_Oh, to be an intern again. You feel like you can do anything and be completely immune to the things happening around you everyday – disease, dismemberment, DEATH. That is until life decides to swoop in and smack the grin off your face. _

The blonde curls bounce more violently as Arizona picks up the pace and practically sprints to her car. It was barely an hour ago she had walked the short distance from the ER doors to Callie's apartment.

_I had no idea that was going to be the last time I walked that distance. Or the last time I got to use Calliope's shampoo just so I could smell her in my hair all day. Or the last time I got to use the key she had given me to her apartment on the day after she had called me her girlfriend._

She reaches the car door and dives in, grabbing the steering wheel as if her composure depended on it.

_Ex-girlfriend, Arizona. EX._

And with that thought, Arizona burst into tears. She had not intended on the evening progressing like it had.

_Maybe if I had just TOLD her?_

Grabbing her keys she flips on the ignition. And almost before the engine of her silver Cadillac XLR roars to life, her foot is on the gas as she is expertly maneuvers onto the street away from SGH.

_Far FAR away. _

Instinctually, she jams her finger onto the CD player and cranks the volume to cover the roar of the accelerator.

I won't regret saying this  
This thing  
That I'm saying  
Is it better than  
Keeping my mouth shut  
That goes without saying 

The roar of the engine kicks in between the lines of the song and Arizona's tears begin to overtake her.

Call, break it off  
Call, break my own heart  
Maybe I would have been  
Something you'd be good at  
Maybe you would have been  
Something I'd be good at  
But now we'll never know 

SCREEEECH! The agile two-seater came to a screeching halt at the (fortunately) empty intersection for the glaring red light. Arizona's eyes were wide open with surprise and fear.

_Um, that was a close one. Breathe, Arizona. Focus, otherwise you're not gonna get home in one piece. You're not suicidal, so get a hold of yourself. _

Taking a moment to inhale and breathe, she picks up her phone and mechanically swipes at the screen with her finger.

I won't be sad  
But in case  
I'll go there  
Everyday,  
To make myself feel bad  
There's a chance  
I'll start to wonder  
If this was the thing to do 

_I don't think I can handle any sad songs tonight. _

Shaking her head in disgust, she jabs at the next track button on her steering wheel as the light turns green.

Returning to her phone she types out a text message and throws her phone down into the console and hits the gas, not noticing the next song that has come on.

hey. sorry, i know it's late. u busy 2nite? -AZ

I hear the ticking of the clock  
I'm lying here the room's pitch dark  
I wonder where you are tonight  
No answer on the telephone  
And the night goes by so very slow  
Oh I hope that it won't end though  
Alone  


"Really? REALLY?!"

An angry, guttural laugh escapes from her throat.

Till now I always got by on my own  
I never really cared until I met you  
And now it chills me to the bone  
How do I get you alone

_OFF! The CD player just needs to be OFF. _

She comes to a stop at another red light, jamming the on/off button of her sound system.

_My apartment has never seemed this far away before. Then again, I haven't really been to my apartment in weeks so I guess it just FEELS far. _

At that moment her phone buzzed to life.

It's ok, just ending a shift actually. What's up? - Teddy

Arizona looked between her phone and the road. After contemplating for a moment, she pushes a couple buttons and whips it up to her ear.

"Hi… Arizona. What's going on?" Teddy asked her with concern prominent in her voice.

"Uhmmm… I uh…." Arizona feels the tears coming to her eyes again.

"Are you all right? Is Callie ok??" The sense of urgency increases in Teddy's voice. All she can hear is silence on the other end when it's interrupted abruptly by a small sob escaping Arizona's lips.

"Where are you? I'm coming."

Behind the tiny sobs, Arizona squeaks "My place. I just got here."

"Ok, I'll be there in 15 to 20." Teddy picked up the pace. She knew that Arizona and Callie had been having issues – Arizona had blurted it out to her at lunch one day while they were having bonding time at lunch. So if Arizona wasn't at Callie's then, well, something wasn't right.

**Just outside Arizona's apartment**

It had been a little longer than she had expected to get to Arizona's apartment and she was running about 15 minutes late. While Teddy had never actually been IN her apartment, she had picked her up outside the building before so she knew how to get there roughly. As she pulled into the spot next to Arizona's XLR she picks up her phone to dial Arizona's number but pauses before the phone reaches her ear.

_Is that…Arizona? Smoking?!_

She closes the old school flip phone while exiting her car and walks tentatively towards the blonde.

"Hey, I didn't know you smoked."

Arizona stands up from the curb – cigarette in hand – and that's when Teddy notices the box of a dozen donuts and pack of cigarettes…. both with sizable dents in them.

Gesturing towards the items remaining on the curb, Teddy ponders out loud, "Well, that's quite a … a … picnic you got there." But almost before she can finish her sentence, Arizona has wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in Teddy's shoulder.

A bit surprised at the abrupt physical contact, she freezes for a second.

_Well, that can't be good… and WHOA HO – that is A LOT of donuts. Yep. She smells like a sugary cigarette. That's definitely not good._

Her hands begin to rub Arizona's back, "Let's get you inside. It's cold."

But Arizona plops back down to the sidewalk, bringing out a whole new pack of cigarettes and packing them against the heel of her hand. Her eyes are dry now but it's very obvious that she has been crying, a lot.

_Ok, maybe not. Uh, so do I ask her what happened? Do I just sit next to her? _

A cigarette appears in her face followed by the words, "Have a smoke with me."

Teddy shakes her head, "Oh no thank you. I quit a few years ago—

"Nope. No you didn't. Here you go." Arizona interrupts abruptly, taking the cigarette she has just lit from her own mouth and handing it to Teddy who takes it reluctantly.

_Eh, one won't hurt._

Taking a long drag, Teddy's shoulders relax, "Wow. I haven't had a cigarette…in…years… I used to smoke back in Ira—"

"Calliope and I broke up." Arizona peeked up at Teddy, a strained look on her face as if fighting off tears again. She takes another long drag from her cigarette.

_This is gonna be a long night_.

Teddy takes a long drag herself.

_I guess I'll go to Mark's later. It's only 9pm and he doesn't get off tonight until 11._

"Why don't we go inside where it's a bit warmer….and….we can eat some more donuts?"

Arizona waves the cigarette at her, "I don't really smoke that much so I try not to smoke in my apartment if I can help it."

Teddy nods, "Ok. Yeah, of course."

They both plop their butts down onto the curb, , "You wanna tell me what happened?"

After another long drag on the cigarette Arizona begins to explain.

"You know that Callie and I have been having….issues." She mumbles, looking to Teddy for confirmation.

"Yeah, you told me what Callie said the other night about wanting to have a baby … and that you don't."

Arizona nods looking completely and utterly disheartened.

"And that you two aren't exactly… uh… talking about it," Teddy ventures.

The blonde shakes her head in agreement, "You could say that." They both take another drag on their cigarettes.

"And I take it tonight you guys DID talk about it?" _And it obviously didn't go all that well._

Arizona takes in a deep breath. "She brought it up. I was perfectly fine avoiding it for a while. At least until I could get the courage to have the conversation the right way… but…" She shakes her head as Teddy continues rubbing her back.

"Did I ever tell you I was engaged before?"

Another long drag. Teddy just looks at her with silent encouragement.

"Olivia. That was her name. Olivia Dunham. We met just as I was starting my internship at Boston University Medical." Arizona pauses, looking back and forth between the types of donuts. She picks up a bearclaw, "She was my first real love," then bites down hard.

Arizona looks at Teddy with her eyes a bit glazed a small smile on her face. "I've always loved kids, you know? Ever since I can remember I've always wanted a little girl of my own. I wanted to buy her cute little dresses and get us matching shoes and purses." She smiles. "I wanted to be the one to scare off any prospective boyfriends… or girlfriends! Hah!"

She surprises Teddy with her laugh. "And when I met 'Liv…Well, we were in love and we both wanted the same thing. Although we were a bit too eager." The smile on Arizona's face turns quickly into a grimace. "Anyways, we decided to get pregnant and engaged at the same time."

She glances at Teddy whose eyes give away her surprise. "Well, I did say we were eager." They share a short laugh.

"Anyways," she continues, "We decided that since her hours weren't as insane and complicated as mine that she would carry our child… MY child."

Teddy nods slowly, comprehension taking over. "They used _your_ egg."

Arizona nods, reaching for her pack and lighter. A long silence takes over as she lights another one. "I proposed to her that day. We were so happy."

"What happened?"

"There were complications from the beginning. But they were minor and manageable… until…" Another drag and donut.

"She went into labor 3 weeks before she was due. The baby was in distress. It had wrapped its neck around the umbilical cord." Arizona shakes her head, "Olivia almost died… and the baby… he … he didn't make it."

Teddy's face showed the perfect combination of shock, sadness and sympathy, "I am so sorry Arizona."

She continued, nodding her acknowledgement of Teddy's condolences, "Jeremiah. Jeremiah Daniel Robbins is what his tombstone read. That and his tiny coffin are the only memories I have of my son. I never got to hold him."

Teddy stares at the ground, still with a little bit of shock. _Arizona's eyes have never looked so…. so…. muted and dark. The light is totally gone._

"Olivia was… never the same and our relationship died fast. It was hard to even look at each other…… I haven't spoken to her since the day I left Boston. It was amicable, don't get me wrong. But it was just too hard for her to even look at me. And vice versa. So I stayed and finished my residency. Then, I was offered the position at Seattle Grace and I jumped at the chance to start over. But I was a different person. I still loved children. They reminded me everyday that I had the power to save them. And prevent this from happening to someone else. But of course, we both know that's not true."

Teddy nods.

"So I decided never to put myself or someone else in that kind of place again." She brought a sprinkled donut to her mouth this time.

"So when you told Callie all of this, I'm sure she understood."

"I didn't tell her. I couldn't. I didn't want her to understand me or see me that way. And I could never see her go through that kind of pain. I didn't want to give her the chance. So… I just… broke it off."

Teddy reached out and took Arizona's hand. "You were just trying to protect her and protect yourself. But, I think you should tell her."

Arizona shook her head, "What she doesn't know won't hurt her." She looks Teddy straight in the eye, "I can't hurt her, Teddy."

"Um, I'd say she's probably hurting already. You should tell her. She deserves to know."

A pained expression crosses Arizona's face but she gives a tiny nod in acquiescence.

"Teddy, thank you for coming over. I appreciate it." They share a hug and begin picking up the remnants from their "picnic." Arizona gives Teddy a small punch in the arm, "Go see your McSteamy. I've got this. I'll be ok for the rest of the night. I think I just need to be alone now."

Reluctantly, Teddy nods and watches Arizona carry the remaining donuts upstairs before getting into her car and heading to Mark's.

**An hour later**

Arizona is plopped down in front of her muted TV which appears to be stuck on one of those home shopping channels. Her stereo is on in the background and she listens to the words of a song she hasn't listened to in a long time as her nicotine buzz starts to fade.

I really thought I was okay  
I really thought I was just fine  
But when I woke this time  
There was nothing to take me back to sleep  
To take you off my mind  
This time

And I keep saying over and over and over and over again  
Let it rain, let it rain  
Over and over and over and over again  
Let it rain, let it rain I need to hide within a storm  
So happy ending come  
And bring the winds that scream  
And spill the fog all over time  
And hold me in your standstill ground  
And I will sit down  
And you'll be washed away  
You'll be washed away

Over and over and over and over again  
Let it rain, let it rain  
Over and over and over and over again  
Let it rain, let it rain

I really thought I was okay  
I really thought I was just fine  
But when I woke up this time  
There was nothing to take you off my mind

Over and over and over and over again  
Let it rain, let it rain  
Over and over and over and over again  
Let it rain, let it rain I need within the storm  
So happy ending come  
And bring the winds that scream  
And spill the fog all over time  
And break through every door  
And strip away between  
And raise the rivers high  
Just help me drown  
And hold me in your standstill ground  
I will sit down  
And you'll be washed away  
You'll be washed away

Her reverie is interrupted by her phone buzzing. A name pops up that Arizona did not expect.

_Calliope Torres._


	3. Ch 3: I'm going to fight for you

**Title:** Abandoning Ship (3/?)

**Author:** DrMcPerky (LJ & FF)

**Rating:** PG-13 (NC-17 possibly for future chapters)

**Pairing:** Callie/Arizona

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. I don't own, I rent.

**Summary:** Arizona contemplates what happened after The Talk (619 spoilers) and opens up to a new friend as a result. This is the sequel to Abandoning Ship although you don't need to have read that one in order to get this one.

**A/N:** Here we go with Chapter 3. I started writing this while watching an old (and outrageously unrealistic) movie called Enough and finished it while driving home to LA from Vegas whilst battling horrendous traffic (don't worry, I wasn't driving!) and fighting with my fiancée (we were both way too tired and being around familial drama agitated us immensely). So let me apologize ahead of time because this chapter is definitely not my favorite. You could say that I used Arizona to take out a little bit of frustration. I will make it all up to you next chapter which will hopefully prove to be funny and awkward and get the wheels of the Calzona Train rolling again. I'm excited for the next chapter which will hopefully come out much quicker than this one did. So thank you for reading this far and for putting up with this chapter! :-S

* * *

Arizona was in her car for the second time tonight.

_Wow. _

Her head shook with utter bewilderment, as she started rolling out of her parking spot.

_What the hell did I do to deserve this big karmic joke in my life right now? I SAVE BABIES for crying out loud! But no, here I am driving BACK to my ex-girlfriend's place – the one I left 2 hours ago when we BROKE UP because I am being a freaking COW-ARD – to deliver a baby. Yep! I'm on my way to deliver my ex-girlfriend-who-wants-a-baby's-best-friend-who-she-has-slept-with's-illegitimate-daughter's-baby._

Arizona watched the street lights play on the road in front of her as she dropped her head into her left hand, propped up on the driver side door. Trying desperately to calm herself for the scene she was driving to.

_I am Dr. Arizona Robbins, daughter of Colonel Daniel Robbins and big sister to Corporal Daniel Robbins Jr. and I AM GREAT. I am strong and I am great at my job. I can do this. _

She rocked slightly in the driver's seat as she navigated her way back to Callie's apartment. She had seen _Calliope Torres_ show up on her phone's screen only 15 minutes ago and had ignored the call at first. Then the text message had come: **Sloane is here, in labor. Think there's something wrong. Please come.**Of course, Arizona had immediately regretted not picking up Callie's call.

_Of course she wasn't going to call me unless she absolutely had to._ Arizona had chastised herself first for not answering the phone call and second for having a small tinge of hope upon seeing the name. Immediately she had texted her back, **On my way.**

Driving past the same landmarks she had passed hours ago brought back the memory of their breakup.

**

_They both sat there, staring between themselves and their hands. _

"_I'm gonna put some clothes on." Arizona could feel her heart racing as she anticipated where this conversation was going. Normally she would have just put a shirt on and some underwear to sleep in but deep, deep down it was if she knew where this was leading to. Instead, she put on a pair of sweats, a sportsbra and t-shirt. Neither of them noticed or realized that she had not dressed herself in pajamas. She sat back down on the bed, facing but not looking at Calliope. _

"_I've wanted a baby since I was a little girl," the brunette broke the silence. "Some little person – a tiny human - that would be mine. Be a part of me." A small smile creeps onto Callie's face, "I want to be the one she runs to in the middle of the night after having a bad dream, the one to ride down the big scary slide with her and see the joy on her face when we come out the other end, together. I want to teach her how to drive a car and be there for her when she falls in love for the first time. And I want to walk my daughter down the aisle someday… right next to the person I love most in this world…. And…. That person is you, Arizona." _

_Callie's eyes locked with Arizona's, "It's no one else but you, Ari." She inhaled deeply as if it had taken all of the air in her lungs to say what she needed to say. _

_Arizona opened her mouth to speak, willing it to say the right thing. But what came out was just a whisper, "I can't." _

_An exasperated sigh escaped Callie's lips, "Arizona, you have to give me more than that. I…. I… I deserve more than that."_

"_You do," Arizona said, biting down hard on her cheek. "That's why this…. This … just… isn't going to work."_

"_Arizo—" Callie started, her exasperation clearly rising. But she was interrupted by the blonde. "Calliope, I don't want kids and I don't ever want them again." _

_They both jerked their heads up. Arizona didn't immediately realize what she had just said but Callie had certainly picked up on it and she looked as if she was about to ask about "again" when she realized that Arizona was no longer sitting on the bed. _

"_Callie, I can't give you what you want in life and you deserve everything you want" Dr. Arizona Robbins continued as her eyes began to water, "It's … just not going to be with me."_

_Silence filled the room as Arizona slid her feet into her heelys sitting at the bottom of the bed. Walking over to the nightstand she slowly picked up her pager and keys. Staring for a moment at a picture of her and Callie in a picture frame. Several seconds passed by and it seemed like they both had things left unsaid. But for Arizona, now was not the time. She needed to cut Callie off so she spun on her heels and walked to the door prepared to walk out of Callie's life forever. _

"_So that's it?" Callie's voice was shaking and Arizona could tell the big, bad Ortho was on the verge of a sob. She wanted to turn around and run to her. To tell her everything. She knew she should, that it would at least soften the blow for Callie but she didn't. A clean cut was always the best one, "Goodbye Calliope."_

_And with that, Arizona walked out on Callie._

_**_

Arizona pulled into her usual space just outside of Callie's building. Teddy was seated on the stairs wearing different clothes than she had been wearing earlier in the night when she had come to Arizona's rescue.

_Well, looks like someone else's night didn't quite turn out as planned._

Arizona jumped out of the her XLR and headed towards Teddy, picking up the pace as she saw the concern on Teddy's face. That's when she noticed that to her right a group of interns and residents was pushing a gurney across the street to meet them.

"Teddy!" The former Army doctor snapped her attention to Arizona and finished the last couple of strides between them. "What's going on?"

"Sloane is in labor and she's bleeding profusely. She showed up like 20 minutes ago, dilated with contractions spaced at 8 minutes apart. I'm surprised she even made it to Mark's." Teddy shook her head as she and Arizona made their way to the interns.

Shouting at the tense junior doctors, Teddy led Arizona into the apartment building.

"Do you think we can move her? Mark said that the baby had a problem with the cord being wrapped around its leg but that Addison had fixed it?"

Arizona nodded as she fought back the nervousness that was creeping into her chest in anticipation of seeing Callie "But that doesn't mean that there wasn't some other complication that arose unbeknownst to us. We don't know what kind of prenatal care she's had in her absence." Teddy gave a quick nod to acknowledge Arizona's expertise. "Well, I've got an OR held for you in case you need to do a c-section."

The two surgeons exited the stairwell and could immediately hear through Mark's open door the screams coming from Sloane. They rushed to the door and paused for a moment as they saw the blood soaked carpet with Sloane, Mark and Callie sitting in the middle of it.

ArArizona steps through the doorway and takes a deep breath, trying her best to clear her head.

CALLIE'S PERSPECTIVE

SGH-MW LOBBY

"Mark, I think you should sit down. Sloane is … in good hands." Mark had been pacing the lobby since Arizona had arrived and decided that Sloane needed to be in the OR immediately. So, Mark had carried Sloane down to the waiting interns and placed her on the gurney. It had only been 30 minutes since Arizona had rushed with Sloane into the OR Teddy had booked for them and Mark was pacing across the lobby with Callie, "I should be in the OR with her, Cal."

"No you should NOT, Mark. She's gonna be ok and she doesn't need you freaking out in there. If anyone can make sure both momma and baby are fine… it's…" Callie sighed "Arizona."

_It's always Arizona._

The concern playing out in Mark's eyebrows and voice lessened a little at his best friend's reassuring words, "Can you go check in with her? I know your girlfriend is the best, but I think I could relax a little more if I could get a status report."

_And that's what I was hoping to avoid. But Mark needs me and __**I'M**__ not the kind of person anymore that abandons the people they love. _

"I'll go check on her for you."And with that, Callie booked it to the OR. _I just need to go in and ask for a status report from one of the nurses or residents scrubbed in. I don't need to look at her or talk to her or anything. Just slip in the back and get an update. _

Callie grabbed a face mask by the door to the OR and tied it around her face before backing through the door to the OR.

The scene was tense. Dr. Hunt and Dr. Altman were both stitching up Sloane who appeared to be ok but in the corner on a smaller table, was a certain blonde pediatric surgeon, working fervently over a tiny, blue body.

Avery, the Mercy West resident was standing next to Arizona trying to pull her away from the tiny body. "Dr. Robbins, she's been down for 6 minu—" And that's when Arizona snapped at the resident with a tone to her voice that Callie had never heard. And by the sound (or lack thereof) in the OR, no one else had heard either.

"BACK! OFF! AVERY!" She was pumping on the baby's chest, shaking her head and muttering to herself. Callie had never seen her lose it in the OR quite like this before although she had heard about Arizona's outburst at the chief when Wallace had been in this very same room undergoing a surgery that she had not believed in.

Callie felt her heart breaking. The baby was dead and Arizona was … not Arizona.

_That's not my responsibility anymore. I don't have a right to care anymore. She took that away from me._

But Callie knew herself better than that. She still loved Arizona and she wanted to take the petite blonde and wrap her up in her arms and tell her it would be ok. Involuntarily, her body moved towards the blonde but was interrupted by a beep on the small monitor next to the baby's head. You could almost hear the collective gasp from everyone in the room as another beep is followed by another and yet another.

Arizona went into action barking orders at nurses, "We've got him back. Get him up to PICU and hook him up to a concentrator and monitor his oxygen levels. He's crying so that's a good thing but we need to make sure there's no damage to his lungs." The nurses snapped into action recovering from the shock of the baby's heartbeat coming back to life. Arizona on the other hand, seemed to be stuck in a trance for a moment as she stared at the new life she had saved being wheeled out of the OR.

She begins to pull off her mask and gloves when she notices Callie standing there. There eyes connect for a moment and Callie thinks for a second that Arizona is going to say something. But instead, Arizona turns and leaves the OR.

_I'm going after her_.

Just as Callie turns towards the swinging door, she is interrupted by Avery's voice, "Dr. Robbins instructed me to let you know that the baby is going to be monitored for the next 48 hours in the PICU but if Mark wants to go upstairs and see him, he can. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. And well, you saw the rest. Oh, and by the looks of it, Sloane is going to be just fine. They've sedated her so she'll be out for the next several hours so she doesn't damage the stitches. She lost a lot of blood but Dr. Hunt… was a ninja. He got her fixed up quickly."

Callie nods at the Mercy-Wester, clearly distracted. And it doesn't go unnoticed by Avery, "I can go let Mark know if you'd like?"

_No, I should tell Mark. Talking to Arizona can wait. _

"Uh, no… Thanks. I'll tell him." And with that, Callie booked it out of the operating room to the lobby where she gave Mark a status update. The two friends walked up to the PICU together.

Callie watched her best friend and new grandfather leaned over the small chamber holding his grandson in the intensive care unit. A small smile on his face as he looked on at the tiny Sloan wriggling in its new skull cap and blanket.

_Arizona. I need to talk to her. I … just … need her. _

Callie turned to the desk behind her where Arizona usually dropped off her charts for residents and nurses to check on. Only the night nurse was there. Still, she may know where Arizona had gone off to. "Katie, do you know where Dr. Robbins went off to?"

"She just walked out the door. Said she was leaving for the night since Dr. Bishop is here now." Before she could finish, Callie was running for the elevator.

**Parking Lot**

Callie burst through the glass doors of the hospital entrance and could see blonde curls bouncing vigorously towards the parking lot.

"Arizona! ARIZONA WAIT!"

_Whew, I am way to out of shape for this High Fidelity shit. _

The blonde stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around. Her head fell fell down a little and Callie knew she was exhausted. _But this can't wait._

"Arizona," catching up to her, Callie panted in between sentences. "Arizona, I'm here to tell you that I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to make this work. I don't know how yet and I don't know how insane I will get trying but I'm here to tell you that I can get pretty insane…" She took a deep breath trying to read the blonde's sad expression. "I'm telling you I'm not going to run away from this Arizona. I love you and we're going to figure this out. You're the one for me Zona. We were made for each other. I love you."

The blonde looked down at the ground and fiddled with her keys for a moment.

"I'm taking a leave of absence."

Callie stood there dumbfounded as Arizona climbed into her car and drove away.

* * *

So what did you all think?


	4. Ch 4: Is this thing on?

**Title:** Abandoning Ship (4/?)

**Author:** DrMcPerky (LJ & FF)

**Rating:** PG-13 (NC-17 possibly for future chapters)

**Pairing:** Callie/Arizona

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. I don't own, I rent.

**Summary:** Arizona goes on her leave of absence but not before Callie makes a strange last ditch effort. (Please note: that's a terrible summary) Also, the song here is That's Just the Woman in Me by Celine Dion. I strongly recommend finding it on youtube or something and listening to it during the part of the fic it's in. And just picture it.

**A/N:** I. AM. EVIL. In short, please accept this chapter as my apology for the previous one. The Calzona train is on track! Choooo! Chooooooooooo! (Also, I don't know if anyone caught another tip of the hat to Fringe in the last chapter. In case you didn't, notice the other Ped Surgeon's last name. :D I like tippage. I've hidden another one in here for another series I love – my first fandom really. Also, please note that I'm experimenting with writing styles. I feel like this is the most natural way I write and it's distinctly more… wordy than previous chapters. Let me know what you think 'cause if you like it, I'll stick with this style.

**A/N 2**: I'm having a fun time reliving in new ways my favorite little moments from the series (i.e. callie hiding behind mark when seeing AZ after the bar scene, the brick incident, etc.) Enjoy!

**A/N 3**: I've made AZ's mom very similar to my grandma who raised me since I was five (she passed away a year ago next month). I would like to dedicate this chapter to her. I miss you everyday, Nana. Say hi to Mom and Sis for me!

The day had not gone by as fast as Arizona had hoped - no prayed - for it to go. Instead, it had dragged on and on and consisted primarily of using Alex Karev as a shield to hide behind whenever Callie came in the vicinity.

Arizona had been filling Karev in on all of her cases so that he could help Dr. Bishop while he was filling in for her while she was gone. Although very suspicious of the Ped surgeon's sudden change of heart with regards to his involvement on her service (and not finding any bricks), he decided to just come right out with what he was thinking after the third duck and cover of the morning.

"Dr. Robbins, why are you using me to hide from your girlfriend?"

Arizona ignored him for a moment, making sure Callie had completely cleared the area before answering him. "For the record, I am not hiding from my --, from Dr. Torres. I'm taking you on my rounds with me today so that you can fill in Dr. Bishop when he returns tomorrow to cover for me while I'm… awaaaay." Arizona realized mid-word that she had accidentally revealed more to the young resident than she had intended.

"Where are you go--?" But Arizona cut him off and shushed him audibly as she dragged him into a nearby supply closet. The look on his face was priceless.

"Don't say that so loud! People talk. People TALK." The conspiratorial whisper used by the blonde would normally have been funny to him if it had not been that at that moment he was a little intimidated… ok, VERY intimidated.

"Don't share this with anyone, Karev, that's an order as your superior." Karev nodded vigorously after she squeezed his arm a little tighter than necessary. "I'm taking a short leave of absence. The reasons are not important and despite my… distaste … for you, you are the best. And I trust my kids will be under good care with your and Dr. Bishop's supervision. You are going to be my eyes and ears while I'm away. If any of them take a turn for the WORSE, you call me immediately. Don't just page me. Here…" Arizona pulled out a spare piece of paper and scribbled onto it quickly the way that doctors always seem to do and handed it to Karev. "That is for emergencies only. I've already talked to Sheppard. He knows to keep you on the Peds rotation this week."

Karev looked down and saw two numbers. One, he recognized as a local Seattle number and assumed was Arizona's cell phone. The other had an area code he had seen before but couldn't place it, "What's this one?"

"My parent's house in Portland" And with that, the Peds surgeon exited the supply closet, the conversation apparently over, followed by Karev.

**

Mark was on his way for a consult when he noticed a familiar blonde hair of curls dive into a small room – too small if you asked Mark – with one of the last people he would expect to be diving in closets with that set of curls. Not being one for gossip of course, Mark decided to hang by the nurses' station. Just to ensure that everything was ok with his friends, of course. Mark nodded as he reassured himself.

_And not because Arizona, who just broke up with my best friend, just dove into a room with a man - KAREV of anyone. _

Mark stood there for a minute watching for movement from the room. Then, Arizona had opened the door and abruptly walked out, followed by Karev.

_Well, that's peculiar._ And he sauntered over to Karev, a pointed look on his face. But Karev didn't see him so Mark grabbed his arm and pulled him into the aforementioned supply closet.

"Aw, maaaan! Come OOON!" the Alex groaned, completely exasperated. But Mark didn't give him a moment more to lament.

"What did Perky want with you?" Mark interrogated him.

"Um. what." Karev deadpanned.

"Robbins, you jackass. What did she want with you."

Alex contemplated not answering the plastic surgeon for a moment but quickly changed his mind when he saw Mark's face.

"Robbins? I'm on her rotation, she was filling me in on case files for my rotation with Bishop next week. "Karev shrugged.

"While she's on leave, right? Where's she going? How long is she going for?"

"Dude! I don't know how long she's gonna be gone for! I think just a week or two, man. What … the hell is going on with you man?" Karev slowly pulled back from the new grandpa.

"Where is she GOING?" he pressed on.

"Uh, I dunno." Karev shook his head.

"Yes, you do. Where?"

"Alright! PORTLAND. Portland is where she's going.

Mark smiled and patted Karev's shoulders, "Atta boy." Then, he turned on his heel and walked out of the closet.

Karev exhales a huge breath while sliding down the wall of the supply room until he's all slumped up.

**

Teddy was on a Recon Mission. One given to her by Commander Sloan – to find one Arizona Robbins and, in his words, to "make it right." Ok, maybe she was exaggerating with the terms – her mind had been on the role playing game they had enjoyed late last night in the on call room.

_Commander Sloan DID have a nice ring to it. _

A smile crossed her face but she shook it off quickly. She digressed.

Mark had relayed to her what he could glean from Callie regarding her breakup and that Arizona had told her she was leaving for a while. That and the fact that Callie was totally heartbroken. Mark had been so concerned about Callie.

Teddy cringed at the memory of the conversation. She was keeping Arizona's secret and was afraid that if Mark knew she had this information that Callie needed to know, he would be very upset. And she didn't want to lose him quite yet.

Teddy spotted the blonde around the supply closet corner and waved her down. She had looked a little flustered and seemed like she wanted to avoid Teddy.

_But friends don't do that to friends now do they, Ms. Arizona?_ Teddy's head practically bobbed while she pictured the blonde saying the something similar to her months ago. They had since grown to be good friends and while Teddy was worried about Callie, she was a little more concerned about Arizona's well-being at the moment.

"Hi. I hear you're leaving us for a little bit?" Teddy came right out with it.

Arizona's face was one of surprise at Teddy's knowledge of this. But then she shook her head. "People TALK."

"What?"

"Oh, nevermind." Blonde curls shook vigorously.

"Anyways, We're going out for drinks at Joe's tonight. You and me. Before you run off to ….wherever you're going."

Arizona opened her mouth to protest.

"Nope. Nuh UH! Friends don't let friends run away. Well, without at least talking about it first. And you can't say no. 'Cause if THE Dr. Arizona Robbins were here, she'd say the same thing." And Teddy stood in front of the stunned blonde, arms crossed, and nodded. "And before you ask, her shift doesn't end until midnight and yours and mine both end at 10. Enough time to be at Joe's and for you to get on the road."

Arizona stared at her for a moment but nodded.

" 'Kay, good. I'll meet ya in the lobby at 10." And with that Teddy and Arizona split ways.

**

Arizona and Teddy sat in a booth in the back of Joe's, beers in hands. Mostly just talking about Mark and Owen and cars, steering clear of "Callie/baby/breakup talk". They're been there for an hour and had discovered several things they had in common – one of which, was a love of beautiful cars.

"A Camaro? Nice! Ever since I watched Megan Fox in Transformers, I have contemplated getting a yellow camaro!" Arizona laughed loudly at herself and Teddy joined her.

"So why do you have an XLR?" Teddy asked innocently

Arizona stopped laughing and sighed. "Because once upon a time I had an Explorer because I thought it would be a good family car… and then… " She faltered. "Well, I decided I didn't need a family car and I bought a two-seater." Both of the girls became quiet, contemplating the symbolism. Arizona broke through their thoughts. "And Trinity is hot. From the Matrix? Yep, the car in that movie is hot too."

They both laughed and you could sense a little relief in each of their voices.

"So! Let's hear more about Commander Sloan!" Arizona gleamed. Her dimples really shining.

"Wait… How did youuu – Mark told Callie?!" Teddy slowly came to the realization and they both burst out laughing. Then, they immediately began to immerse themselves in the details.

**

"Yes! Canceled surgery! Boo Yah!" Mark pumped his fist in the air after seeing the time read 10:35 pm on his watch. He lightly punched his sullenly brunette friend's shoulder "Come on, Cal. We know where Blondie went. We're gonna strategize on what you gotta do to turn into Arizona's white knight and save the day." He paused and looked at her for a moment. "Well, in your case, brown knight." The smirk across Mark's face grew in record speed. But before it could reach its potential, Callie smacked him upside the head, " ¡Idiota!"

"Ow-Wuh!" They stared at each other for a moment, Mark rubbing the back of his head. Then, they started laughing. Mark's grin bigger than Callie's, glad to see her smiling for the first time in two days.

"Let's go to Joe's. Get totally shit-faced and sing! It's karaoke night tonight at Joe's! We'll sing a duet and get shit-faced. Forget Perky for a tonight and just relax. We'll deal with that in the morning."

Callie laughed at him and nodded. "That sounds like a great idea Mark."

They walked arm in arm out of the locker room and headed for Joe's.

**

Callie and Mark had been sitting at the bar for barely 20 minutes and Callie had already pounded down 6 shots of Patrón right alongside Mark and they were BOTH pretty drunk.

When they had first walked into Joe's and sat down, Callie had heard a large burst of laughter come from the booths in the back. That's when she had noticed that Arizona not only hadn't left yet but was apparently having a grand ol' time of their breakup, laughing and finding the world (and Teddy?) hilarious. Mark had stopped her from storming over there and giving Arizona a piece of her mind. _"Remember what happened the last time you did that at Joe's?"_ he had said.

And so there they were sitting at the bar with Mark trying to distract Callie with the karaoke book of songs. "Callieee, okayokay. You needto pick a song fer us, k? Good. Izgottabe a goood one. I gottapee." And with that, Mark headed for the toilets. But Callie had a different idea in mind.

The brunette, took another shot from Joe and staggered up to the stage. She handed the book to the DJ and whispered in his ear. Taking to the stage, she grabbed the mic. And as the current song was fading out, she tapped the mic.

"Hello? Is this thing on?? HelllloooOOOOOoooo?"

Everyone in this room dropped what they were doing and cringed at the sudden assault on their ears, turning to the stage searching for the source.

A certain blonde in the back froze before slowly standing up and peaking around towards the stage. And that's when their eyes connected for a moment before Callie continued.

"I decida—deci—DEDICATE thizong to .. " Callie paused as the song started. "To the person who lightz m' fire and for whom I waz made."

Then, Callie began to sing, Nodding her head and swaying – no dancing – with the mic stand and pointing at the crowd of people staring wide-eyed.

_If your shooooooes refuse to shiiiiine  
And your leeeeegs don't walk in line  
And tomorroooow is just some other time _

_Yeah._

_That's just the woman in me, baby  
That's just the woman in me, baby  
That's just the woman,  
Working on you _

Arizona and Teddy's jaws were piled on top of each other on the booth's table. Without taking her eyes off the trainwreck, Teddy whispered to Arizona,"uh.. isn't Callie afraid of speaking in public?"

Arizona nodded curtly, "Yeah. Yeah, you could say that."

"Ok, just checkin' "

_If your feet can't find the flooooor  
And your keeeey won't fit the door!  
And you've forgotteeeeeeeeeeen that two twos are four _

_Yeah_

_That's just the woman in me baby  
That's just the woman in me baby  
That's just the woman  
Working on you _

_Oh! OOooooooh Yeah!_

"Looks like she's over her fear…" Teddy looked at Arizona with questions in her eyes.

_And I've seen you wandering baby, _

_up and down my street! Yeah._

"She told me she was gonna fight for me." The blonde lowered her head, feeling a little ashamed that she had not responded to Callie's overture last night and that had apparently led her to this moment here.

_Trying to explain that love is pain to all the people that you meet  
Searching for that imperious, mysterious femme fatale kind of stuff  
But if you don't know by now that it's me anyhow! _

_Then baby you've got it rooooough!_

At that moment, Mark came out of the bathroom and glancing to his right saw Teddy and Arizona staring off at something across the room. Before he could turn to look, he heard it first. And he became the third person in the bar that night with his jaw on the floor.

_So if your brain gets so confused  
And your TV is blowing a fuse  
Just come on over, you've got nothing to lose _

_That's just the woman in me baby  
That's just the woman in me baby  
That's just the woman in me  
Working on you  
Working on you  
Working on you _

"I can't… I can't be here right now. Thanks for drinks, Teddy, but I gotta go." And with that, the blonde slipped out of the booth and snuck out the back door.

_'Cause I need, I need a man to love  
Because I need, I need a man to love  
Respect me, protect me, rule over, drool over  
Run away to ivory towers, buy me a bunch of flowers and love _

_That's the woman in me baby  
Working on you  
Working on you  
Working on you  
Working on you _

_I need a man to love baby  
I need a man to love _

"That's right!" And the brunette finished the last note with a solid kick to the air and then exited the stage, collapsing in Mark's arms before passing out.

**

Arizona glanced at the clock in her XLR before turning the engine off. **4:00AM**

Getting out, she popped open her trunk and pulled out the tiny duffle bag that she had packed. She'd always been good about packing light. Being an army brat did have its advantages aside from instilling in the Robbins's kids the ability to make friends easily.

She tried to be as quiet as possible as she turned the key to the door she had not visited in a while, remembering that it creaked when open. She stepped through slowly, intending to collapse on the couch and attempt sleep. But her mind was racing and she knew that sleep would be a futile endeavor.

"We expected you two hours ago 'Zona"

The petite blonde jumped at the sudden break in silence. "Daddy!" She whispered. "I'm sorry, I got… held up. Did I wake you? Or is this your new obscene wake-up time now?" She gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"I run in the mornings, to the beach and back." The senior Robbins family member was sitting at the bar/island in the kitchen holding a mug of coffee. He set down his coffee and met his daughter halfway for a big hug. She squeezes him a little tighter than usual. When he releases her, he cradles her face in his hands. Her beautiful blue eyes are wet as if holding back tears. "It's ok, baby girl, just let it out and then get some sleep. We'll talk later in the morning after you've had some rest."

And with that, Dr. Arizona Robbins broke down and cried in Col. Daniel Robbins' arms.

**


	5. Ch 5: Boom Goes the Dynamite

**Title:** Abandoning Ship (5/?)

**Author:** DrMcPerky (LJ & FF)

**Rating:** PG-13

**Pairing:** Callie/Arizona

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. I don't own, I rent.

**Summary:**

**A/N:** This chapter is yayness! Also, like mentioned previously, I like tippage. So I've hidden another one in here for another series I love – my first fandom really.

**A/N 2**: I had a little trouble writing Callie's part for the beginning and middle of this chapter, so please bear with it. Really, this chapter is meant to focus on Arizona making a decision. So bear with me.

**A/N 3**: I've made AZ's mom very similar to my grandma who raised me since I was five (she passed away a year ago May 15). I would like to dedicate this chapter to her. I miss you everyday, Nana. Say hi to Mom and Sis for me!

"Is this a…. frequent thing?" Teddy leaned over Mark to see Callie passed out and taking up more than her third of Mark's bed.

Mark chuckled softly, "No. Just on rare occasions." He flashed her one of his famous McSteamy grins. A pager started to beep.

"I think that's me. I'm the only one on call this morning right?" But before Teddy could finish her sentence, the other two pagers laying next to hers started their respective pager dances, beeping and vibrating their way across the nightstand.

"Apparently not!" Mark flipped over, reaching across Callie to grab his pager.

"mmmmmmmm." A small grumble came from the sleeping Ortho.

"Yes, your pager is going off. Come on and get out of bed, you drunkard." But Callie had other plans and covered her head with her pillow. Muffled words could be heard. Mark pulled the pillow from her grasp and yanked the bed sheet off of her.

"Let's go! Up and at 'em Torres."

"MaaaAAAAaaark!"

Reluctantly the brunette rose from the bed and stumbled her way across the hall, pager in hand, to change for her shift.

Arizona's eyes fluttered open and she looked around the familiar room not initially recognizing where she was. She sat up on her parents couch and put her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes.

_Wow. What time is it??_

"It's 11:21 dear." Arizona startled at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Momma?" She turned and saw the matriarch of her family at the kitchen counter, chopping away expertly at the bell pepper underneath her knife's blade. "Mom, you should really look at what you're doing so I don't have to stitch you up later," said Arizona as she stood up and stretched before walking into the kitchen and giving her mom a big hug.

"Hi Momma." Arizona smiled genuinely but weakly.

"Hi Sweetpea. I'm making yummy chicken faPitas for lunch." She gave her daughter's hand a squeeze, lingering for a moment before turning back to her peppers.

"Help me with these." Arizona turned to the knife box and began to help her mom chop up an onion and green pepper.

The back porch door creaked open as Col. Robbins swung it open, "Well, good morning kiddo."

"Hi Daddy," Arizona leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"So when are you and your mom leaving for the farmer's market?" He asks, innocently.

"Um, we're going to the farmer's market?"

"Of course dear! You know I go every Saturday and today you're coming with me. "

Arizona rolled her eyes behind her mother's back. Shopping was her mom's way of bringing up "conversation." And today it was no guess what the topic of "conversation" would be. Nonetheless, Arizona knew it was unavoidable and she began to prepare herself for the inevitable interrogation to take place.

"Why did you let me do that last night, Mark?" Callie was not a happy camper. "Seriously, I made a fool of myself and worse, I've driven Arizona away and I'm not entirely sure where she went or how I'm supposed to get her back." Callie's head was in her hands at the lunch table, Mark and Teddy sitting next to her.

Cristina pulled a chair over next to the group and glanced at the Ortho, "Heard you had an AWESOME time last night."

"Cristina…" Mark began.

"Whaaat?" Cristina squinted at Mark, "Don't you have a baby or two to check up on?"

Teddy snorted, immediately covering her mouth so as to avoid detection. A futile attempt.

Mark shook his head, "You are gonna get her back. I have a plan." Mark turned to Teddy looking as if he was expecting her to say something. When she just shrugged, he prodded her. "Hello? You're like Arizona's new bff, where is she? I mean, I know she went to Portland, but where did she go?"

Teddy opened her mouth to speak, hesitantly.

"Her parents' house." Everyone at the table turned to look at the frazzle-haired bone surgeon. "Portland, of course. Her parents' house is in Portland. I should have thought of that."

"Well, that's a start!" Mark said, trying to be encouraging.

"How is that a start, Mark? What am I supposed to do? Go up there and force my way into her parents' house? I'm pretty sure the Colonel wouldn't be too appreciative of THAT."

"Well, what if you called Dr. McPerky?" Cristina shoved a huge spoonful of lettuce into her mouth, too much actually. "I've seen you and blondie on your phones before, texting queens. She's sure to have her phone with her."

"Well, assuming that Arizona would even ANSWER one of my calls let alone even LOOK at a text I send her, her cell doesn't get good service at her parents' house." Callie's head fell onto the table. "That's why she went there. 'Cause no one can get a hold of her... So **I** can't get a hold of her."

Mark crunched his eyebrows together as if in deep contemplation. He looked up at the lunch line to see Karev perusing the salads. "Hold, please." The women at the table watched curiously as the plastic surgeon crossed the cafeteria to the resident standing in line. They could see a scared look on Karev's face when Mark patted him on the shoulder in what would otherwise seem like a friendly gesture. Almost immediately, Karev produced a piece of paper and handed it to Mark who grinned like a Cheshire cat before sauntering back to the table of perplexed women and plopping down onto the chair.

"And boom goes the dynamite."

"What?" The women all said in unison.

"Arizona's parents' phone number. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Sloanman"

Cristina groaned and everyone chuckled at the exasperation on Cristina's face.

"Well, 7 dollars for a crate of strawberries? Who do you think you are? Godfarm? That's preposterous! God wouldn't even charge 7 dollars for strawberries!" Dana Robbins was in a huff with some poor farmer under the tent of his booth. Arizona stepped up next to her mom and paid the farmer, nodding her apologies as she pulled her mom away moving onto the next booth filled with all sorts of grains and pastas.

"Arizona, you do not have to coddle me. He was being ridiculous. I was merely pointing it out to him for his own benefit. No one is going to buy 7 dollar strawberries organic or not!"

Arizona stood and stared at her mother for a moment before shaking her head and nodding. "Whatever you say, Mom."

Dana looked at her daughter, taking in her tired posture and exhausted voice. But mostly, she fixated on her daughter's eyes normally so bright but now muted and dark. She took Arizona's arm in hers and began to walk through the crowd browsing but not stopping at any of the booths. "So how are things at Seattle Grace?"

Arizona sighed. Normally, that would seem like a NORMAL question. But this was Arizona's mom we were talking about. Someone who could draw anyone into a potentially undesired conversation subtly without the person realizing exactly WHAT it was they were being dragged into until it was too late. But, she would indulge her mother… to a point.

"Things are … fine. I told you about Dr. Sheppard becoming chief and what a shocker that one was."

Her mother shook her head curtly, "Honey, that was months ago. What about … recently?" Arizona could recognize when her mother was digging for information from a mile away.

"Moooom…" Arizona groaned, just like she used to when she was a teenager.

"Sweetpea, I'm just worried about you. I mean, you call us while you're at work randomly and tell us you're coming home for a couple of days, no explanation and you're lost, you're…. you've lost the light in your eyes." Dana held her daughter's face in her hands as if looking for the lost light. "I just, I want to make it better if I can. That's my job, hun." She smiled at her daughter and anyone passing by could never doubt that these two blonde, dimpled, blue-eyed women were mother and daughter.

Arizona closed her eyes, feeling moisture building behind her eyelids. "Mom, I… I'm…" She paused, opening her eyes and looking at her mother who nodded her encouragement with a gentle smile and empathy in her eyes. "I broke up with Calliope."

"Give her a couple days!" Callie huffed at Mark's advice, picking up the intensity of her pacing in the on call room.

"Mark, I have this piece of paper burning a whole in my pocket. I don't want to be a second without her let alone…. Well, THIS." She threw her hands up, exasperated and on the verge of another breakdown. "Why can't I just call the number?"

"Because. You. Need. To. WAIT." Mark itierated slowly. "Arizona needs some space which is why she left. BUT she gave Karev her parent's phone number." His smile had a smug look of self-satisfaction plastered on it. Callie's face was quite the opposite – filled with utter confusion.

"Aaaaand…. That means what??" She shook her head.

Mark shook his head, obviously expecting the connection to be much more obvious than apparently it was.

"Well, for one of us to get a hold of it! She knows no one can keep a secret in this hospital. She could have given it to Derek for him to get a hold of her in case one of her kids take a turn for the worse. But no, she gave it to Karev. KAREV OF ALL PEOPLE." His body language was very animated. "And THAT is because she WANTS you to chase her and fight for her." Mark pumped his fist in the air. "And BOOM goes the dynamite. THAT is how women operate my friend."

Callie's expression was completely neutral for a moment. Then she turned, shaking her head, and walked out of the on-call room.

"Torres! That's sound logic right there" but Callie was already walking out the door of the on-call room, "YOU CAN'T DENY THAT'S AWESOME LOGIC!" Mark stood there for a second congratulating himself before following her out the door.

"Mom, I don't… I don't want to talk about it right now." Arizona was being dragged by her mother throughout the Farmer's Market.

"We're almost done here sweetheart and then we'll talk." She placed her finger on Arizona's lips as they were opening in protest. " 'Zona, you need to talk about this."

Arizona dropped her head and the words she spoke came out as a whisper, "I don't know if I CAN, Mom."

The Farmer's Market was busy and people were laughing and being cheerful all around them. Kids were running to and from booths accepting the free samples with mischievous giggles and being chased by their parents.

Dana took her daughter's hand and squeezed it, "Let's take a walk." The two women left the Farmer's Market and bags in hand walked in the direction of the nearby park.

Arizona made her way to a bench nearby wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. She sat down next to her mom and began to watch the children in the sandbox chase each other around, laughing and giggling.

"It's terrifying."

Arizona turned her head to look at her mom. The tone in her voice was one that she was not accustomed to hearing from her mother. Usually her mom would beat around the bush before getting into any serious discussions but this tone was serious right off the bat.

"You spend 9 months totally excited and hopeful but scared too. Waiting for this thing that you KNOW you're not prepared for, to come and take over your life. To completely change your routine and way of doing things. It's scary." The older woman paused, knowing that her daughter was fully aware of this. "And then the day comes and it's completely terrifying. Your whole life changes in a moment."

Arizona's body was stiffening up at the memory that her mother was bringing back to her. The two Robbins women sat on the bench for a moment staring at the kids going down the slide.

"You never talked about him with us. After he died, you didn't talk to anyone about it. Why?"

Arizona stared at her hands in her lap, playing with her fingers and knuckles. "I … didn't know what to say… I hadn't felt that way in such a long time – since Danny - and I knew that nothing you could have said would make me feel better." Arizona looked at her mother, "And I didn't want to remind you of what you went through with Danny. I didn't want to upset you. So… I dealt with it myself."

Dana looked at her daughter and she squeezed her hand. "I'm listening now, hun." And Arizona looked up at her mom and sighed. Then the two of them began to talk.

"You knew this all along?!?!" Mark was yelling, well… whisper-yelling at Teddy in an empty patient room.

"Mark, she told me this when she was upset. She obviously did not want to share that with Callie and so neither should YOU." Teddy was kicking herself on the inside. She had been talking to Mark about Callie and Arizona earlier and Mark had mentioned that something had to be up with Arizona, something deeper. And Teddy had accidentally thought outloud a comment she perhaps shouldn't have made. And now Mark was interrogating her.

"Teddy. My friend, my BEST friend is hurting and trying to get the person who means the most to her in the world back. If I can help her do that, I will."

Teddy grabbed Mark's arm to ensure he didn't leave quite yet. "Mark, please wait. You need to give Arizona the opportunity to tell Callie on her own."

"But you said she wasn't going to tell Callie because she wanted to protect her!" Mark didn't understand.

"Mark, Arizona knows she needs to tell Callie, ok? So just… WAIT. For me?"

Mark pursed his lips together before nodding curtly. "Fine. But if Arizona doesn't tell her, I will." Just as he was turning to head out the door, they heard the last voice they expected to hear.

"Tell me what?" Callie stood in the door, powered doughnut in hand.

"And you really haven't spoken to 'Liv since?"

Arizona shook her head gently.

"You know, she called me once." Dana Robbins spoke softly. Arizona's head popped up.

"Olivia called you? When?"

"Just after you moved to Seattle. She wanted to make sure you were ok. She told me that you two … weren't communicating. That it was hard but that you both were moving on." Dana smiled, "She just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"How was she doing?"

"You should call her and ask her yourself." Dana turned towards the bags sitting on the bench next to her and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Arizona.

Arizona took the piece of paper tenderly.

"It's a terrible thing to lose a child. It's not right. But I would regret it if that grief, that _possibility_ of grief had somehow prevented me from having you as my daughter." Dana reached over and held Arizona's hand. "You are so worth that risk, hun. And that's why when something awful happens, you grieve…then, you move on. I will never EVER forget Danny but your father and I, we've moved on. It still hurts everyday but each day is a little less. Then you get to the point where you're celebrating with the rest of your family and it's like he's there with you and it's not sad anymore. You'll get to that point Arizona Robbins." Dana's eyes began to water ever so slightly. " 'Cause you're a Robbins. And you know THIS family – we're good men in a storm. We stick by the ones we love and fight for them no matter the cost…"

Dana paused, waiting for Arizona to look up at her and make eye contact, "Even if we have to bend our own ideals in the process." Dana reached over and cradled her daughter's head in her hands, "I think you know that better than anyone else in this family, Arizona. Just remember that."

Arizona looked at her mom for an extra moment. Her mind flashed back to that day so long ago when she told had told her father she was a lesbian. She had cried so hard before she walked into his office, fists clenched in her pockets, convincing herself she was ready for the storm about to hit. But it hadn't. Instead of running or yelling, he had stood there with her and asked her a simple question.

She smiled at her mom. "Thank you for reminding me of that."

"Anytime sweetpea." Her mom jumped up from the bench and took Arizona's arm, leading her back to the car. "Come on. Let's go fix dinner."

**SEVERAL HOURS LATER**

"Well, I'm calling it a night, you two don't stay up too late." Dana Robbins placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead and patted her husband on the shoulder before heading back inside. They had had a lovely dinner on the porch looking over the water, the Colonel with his pipe in his hand.

"I can't believe you still smoke that Daddy. After all of my efforts to get you to stop."

Daniel Robbins Sr. tilted his head to look over his glasses at his daughter. He didn't have to say anything before Arizona threw her arms up in the air, mocking exasperation.

"So you and your mom talked today?" He says, knowing fully well that they had.

Arizona nodded.

"So I take it you'll be leaving us tomorrow? Going to set things right?"

Arizona looked her father in the eye and smiled. "Yes, Daddy."

"Good." Daniel rose from his chair and knocked his pipe clean of tobacco before turning towards the patio door. "Goodnight, kiddo."

" 'Night." Arizona pauses, watching her Dad turn the handle. "Daddy?"

Colonel Robbins stopped and turned. Arizona got up from her chair and walked over to her father and looked into the eyes she inherited, "Thank you Daddy, for being a good man in a storm." He smiled down at her and placed a kiss on her forehead, "now don't mess it up." Arizona smiled the first genuine smile she'd had in days.

"I won't Daddy."

Callie and Mark the next day. Callie has a hangover and she laments the night previously. They're at lunch and teddy and mark are there. They get out of Teddy that she's actually at her parent's house in Portland and Mark stops to think for a second realizing that karev left that tidbit out. He leaves and comes back 5 minutes later. They note how fast it was. Callie is like, "should I call??" and mark says no. wait a few days. Give her some room to breathe. Then surprise her up there (in actuality they will appear to have missed each other with callie appearing at the house and hearing that arizona was just about to leave when arizona walks in the door and says she forgot her glasses. She sees callie and they make up. Maybe have an epilogue)


	6. Ch 6: When life gives you lemons

**Title:** Abandoning Ship (6/7)

**Author:** DrMcPerky (LJ & FF)

**Rating:** PG-13

**Pairing:** Callie/Arizona

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

**Summary:** Callie learns the truth about Arizona's past and drives to Portland to talk to her about it. Terrible summary, btw.

**A/N:** The end is near! The next chapter is it! Arizona & Callie's internal thoughts are back in certain parts here. As usual, they're in italics.

"What's going on here?" Calliope had powered sugar all over her face but at this moment, neither Mark nor Teddy found it particularly funny.

"Nothing… Mark and I… we were just talking about a patient." Teddy fumbled through the sentence and despite the dubious look in the Ortho's eyes, Callie took another bite of her doughnut as if almost satisfied with the answer.

"What patient?"

Mark and Teddy looked like giant sea bass, opening and closing their mouths with no sound coming out.

Mark spun to face Teddy next to him, hunched to her height grabbing her by the shoulders while whispering loudly, "I can't lie!!"

Simultaneously, Teddy threw up her arms in exasperation as Callie asked, "Um, what the fuck is going on here?"

Mark looked at Teddy as if she were the only guilty party. Teddy returned his look with one of shock at his little betrayal but didn't lose her resolve. Mark decided to ignore her quiet refusal.

" Zona had a kid."

Teddy spun fast and slapped Mark upside the head….HARD.

Callie's hand and face both slowly drop as the fact seeps into her comprehension. She continues to stare at Mark's face slowly focusing on his eyes.

"Arizona …has… a child?" The words seem to crawl slowly out of Calliope's mouth.

"Well, not exactly…" Teddy gently cut in.

Callie turned her gaze quickly to the cardio's reddening face. "…not….exactly?" Callie took a deep breath, flaring her nostrils and straightening her back. There was a dark anger on her face that Mark had seen only rarely before.

"Somebody. Better. Start. Talking... Right now." Callie stared at the floor waiting to hear someone open up.

Teddy sighed, knowing she had lost this battle. She inhaled deeply, speaking in one breath.

"Arizona was engaged… and her fiancée was carrying her baby." Teddy observed Callie's unchanging face. "And they lost it. In childbirth." Teddy blew out the rest of the air she was holding in her chest. "And I really think you need to talk to Arizona about the details, not us" Teddy nodded and walked past Callie out of the room.

Callie slowly made her way over to a chair and sat down, shoving the rest of the doughnut in her mouth and chewing slowly.

Mark quietly stepped towards her.

"Why does Teddy know that and … **I** don't?" Callie had tears in her eyes as she asked the question aloud to no one in particular.

"I don't know, Cal. Maybe Arizona didn't tell you because she just couldn't, you know? Like, it was too painful for her to tell you and she didn't want you to think she was broken."

The two of them sat in the room for a moment, quietly, staring into space with their own thoughts.

Callie stood up and brushed the rest of the sugar off her hands onto her scrub pants, "I need to finish my rounds this morning."

Mark reached out to hold her hand, "Are you … okay?"

Callie smiled at him half-heartedly pulling her hand away gently, "I haven't been ok since Arizona left me."

Arizona had the box of cigarettes she snuck with her to her parents' house and she was playing with them while seated on the patio. In the other hand was her cellphone which she also fiddled with. Biting her lip, Arizona stared at the piece of paper on the table in front of her. She took a long, deep breath filling her lungs with the fresh air of Portland just before 6 o'clock in the morning.

Arizona hesitated, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it while leaning back in the patio chair. Taking long drags from the cigarette, Arizona mentally calmed herself down.

_Breathe in, breathe out. Deep breaths. She should be up by now. Probably already been to the gym and still the first one in the office. Probably the only one in there actually... _

Arizona took one last drag on the cigarette before putting it out and throwing it away in her Dad's ash tray. She picked up the phone and began to dial.

The phone was ringing and a blonde woman rushed to pick it up, "Hello?"

The voice on the other line was quiet for a moment. "Um, hi. This is…."

The blonde woman smiled, "I've been expecting your call. Callie, right?"

Another phone was ringing across the country and a different blonde woman was rushing towards her office to pick it up. She dove across a small stack of papers on her desk and flipped her phone to her ear saying quickly,

"Special Agent Olivia Dunham."

The line was quiet. Something that Olivia was actually used to although for some reason with this phone call she felt a sense of familiarity. She couldn't put her finger on it, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

There was no immediate answer and Olivia was just about to hang up when she heard the voice speak.

"… 'Liv?"

The FBI agent froze at the familiar voice she had not heard in many years.

"Arizona?" Olivia lowered herself into her chair, glancing around the office and saying a silent thank you for the emptiness around her.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself." Olivia, despite her shock, let a tiny smile creep onto her face, "How…What…" She laughed a little, glad to hear from the woman she hadn't seen or spoken to in years laughing with her. "How are you, 'Zona?"

"I'm good! I'm good. How are you? I see you're still with the bureau, Special Agent... How is that going?"

Olivia shook her head with disbelief that she was speaking to her ex-fiancée but glad that she was too. "It's great. I love it. I work a lot but I'm heading up my own task force for a special division of the Bureau, so… I'm doing great."

"Well, you always did like to run around shooting at things."

"You say that like it's a bad thing!"

And with that one tiny inside joke, both blondes began laughing, just like old times.

Dana Robbins hung up the phone after her brief conversation. She turned to look out the kitchen window at her daughter.

_Well, she's got a smile on her face. That's gotta be a good thing. And in several hours, everything will be back to how it should be…hopefully. _

"Well, that's the plan." She said to herself.

Dana resumed cleaning the kitchen as she periodically glanced at her daughter on the porch.

Arizona hung up the phone. She had ended up talking to Olivia for almost two hours although it felt just like mere minutes catching up with her. They had talked about how their respective families were doing, how their jobs were going and also a little bit about their new relationships before the conversation transitioned into talking about the son they had shared and lost together.

It was a difficult conversation but not as bad as Arizona had thought it would be. It actually made her feel a little better talking to Olivia. Knowing that she was feeling a lot of the same things that Arizona herself was feeling – the trepidation of telling new significant others about Jeremiah and dealing with the loss and grief that had made them both weary of having children again – it made Arizona feel a little better and gave her that little extra dose of courage she needed to make things right. But first, she had to pack her things to head back to Seattle.

Callie was driving perhaps a little too fast on the 5 Southbound and had to tell herself to slow down. She watched as the miles until her destination ticked down on her GPS unit.

Torres was nervous. She had gotten off the phone only two hours ago with Dana Robbins who she had never met before let alone spoken to. It was an awkward conversation for her part although Mrs. Robbins didn't seem phased by it. She had only asked Callie if she had a pen and paper ready. At first, Callie wasn't sure what she was talking about but when Dana started reading outloud an address, she knew what she was going to do. The conversation had ended abruptly as Arizona's mom said, _"Well, we'll see you in a few hours, hun."_ Callie had been a bit taken back by the strange assumption but understanding had dawned on her almost immediately. Dana Robbins was just like her daughter. She knew what to do and say in any kind of situation.

_Because she's right. And she's awesome. Just like Arizona._

Callie chuckled to herself as she rushed to get her things together in the locker room and headed to the parking lot.

Now, Callie was on her way to the Robbins' house and to Arizona. She was rehearsing everything she was going to say in her head (which was part of the reason for her excessive speeding).

"Slight left in 1 mile at NorthWest Wilson River Hwy, Oregon state Hwy 6 West."

Callie checked her GPS unit, a Christmas gift from Arizona. _"So you can always find your way to me," _she had said.

"_Oh I don't need GPS for that."_ Callie smiled at the memory for just a moment before making her turn onto the 6 West.

There was only 50 miles left. Callie would be there in less than an hour.

Dana Robbins walked by Arizona's room with a laundry basket in hand. She leaned into the doorway to ask her daughter if she had any laundry she needed done but stopped when she saw Arizona packing.

"Heading back to Seattle early I see? I take it your phone call with Olivia went well."

Arizona stopped what she was doing, turning to face her mom.

"Yeah. Thanks Mom. I didn't realize how much I needed that… or how stupid I've been."

Dana entered her room placing the laundry basket down by the door. She sat next to her daughter on the bed.

"Let's go sit on the porch for a little while, before you go back to Seattle. You don't come visit your ol' mom and dad enough as it is. Besides, your Dad'll be home any minute and he'll want to at least see you before you go."

Arizona looked at her mom and smiled, nodding. All she wanted to do was drive back to Seattle as fast as possible, burst through the doors of Seattle Grace and find that special Orthopedic Surgeon who had stolen this Ped surgeon's heart away. And see if there was any possibility of earning HER heart back.

She and her mom made their way down to the patio, Arizona bringing her bags and leaving them in the kitchen first so she could leave sooner rather than later.

"Shit!" Callie kicked the tire on her truck, now flat. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit! SHIT!"

She was pulled over on a dirt road cursing the spare she had taken out of the back of her truck. It was flat too.

_I can't freaking believe that I forgot to get that fixed. _

Callie shook her head and crossed her arms. Water rushed to her eyes as the frustration and nerves and stress began to hit her all at once. But Callie was having none of that. She wiped the moisture building in her eyes and leaned into the open car door, grabbing the GPS unit and her car keys, and locking the door. Then, she began to walk.

_I am this close to Arizona's house. I will freaking run these last 5 miles if I have to._

And Callie started to walk….fast. A tiny part of her was thankful for this necessary diversion in plans. She had been nervous and scared of what she was going to say to Arizona when she arrived but she knew that she was going to at least have some resolution which brought her a dubious comfort. What Callie was equally terrified of was Arizona's parents. She had never met or even spoken to them before (except for the phone call earlier this morning). Particularly, Arizona's dad. She knew he was … a man with ideals and set in his ways. _Just like Arizona_. But she also knew that he was the reason for her authority issues, which Callie actually found kind of endearing.

Callie remembered how Arizona had stood up to the chief for Derek's surgery and chuckled out loud at the thought.

"What's so funny?"

Callie practically jumped out of her skin, almost dropping the GPS unit in her hands. She turned to look at an older man who appeared to be cooling down from a run.

"I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to scare you." The man was tall and despite being easily in his 60s, he was very fit. He obviously took very good care of his physique. He smiled at Calliope and she felt her stomach do a flip. His smile was so familiar.

"Oh, that's all right sir. I'm just…" Callie shook her head. "Lost. Well, not really. I have a flat. But I'm not far away from where I'm going so it's no big deal."

He reached over and took the GPS out of the brunette's hand and looked at the screen. His eyebrows lifted slightly with what looked like recognition. "I think I can help you find where you're going. We're pretty close."

Callie hesitated at first. "Oh, you don't have to do that."

But she was cut off by the blonde haired, blue eyed man. "It's no trouble. We're going the same way."

Callie paused for a moment, looking at the man. She was just about to protest again when he reached out his hand.

"Colonel Daniel Robbins. You must be Calliope."

Callie's mouth dropped. This was not the way she anticipated meeting Arizona's dad. But despite her surprise, she reached out and shook his hand.

"It's… nice to meet you sir."

"Likewise. Now let's get back to the house. I'm dying for some lemonade and we can call AAA to fix your car. It's a Saturday so it might take them a little while to get here but at least the house is air conditioned."

Callie nodded, all of a sudden very shy, before beginning their walk to the Robbins' house.

"Well, he should be back by now." Dana Robbins checked her watch. A slight wrinkle of worry growing on her forehead. "If he's not back here in a few minutes I'm sending out a search party!" She laughed patting her daughter's arm.

"Don't worry mom, it's Dad. I'm sure he'll be here any minute. It's not like he doesn't know how to handle hims---"

They both heard the front door close and Arizona's mom smiled. "I'm going to go get us a couple glasses of lemonade. I'll be right back." Her mom got up from her chair and went into the kitchen from the patio door, leaving Arizona looking out over the yard at the water and fiddling with the watch on her wrist.

Callie followed the Colonel into the house. Walking as lightly as possible as if everything around her were fragile. She felt strange being in this house for the first time without Arizona by her side to calm her nerves and make her feel at home.

Daniel went straight into the kitchen and Callie slowly walked around the corner to peek her head into the kitchen doorway just in time to see Dana Robbins coming in the patio door. And that's when Callie caught a glimpse of Arizona. Her heart swelled for a moment with a mixture of love and fear and hope and definitely anxiety.

Dana faltered in her step for a moment before letting a big smile cross her face. It was at that moment that Callie knew exactly where Arizona had gotten her beautiful smile and amazing dimples.

"You must be Callie." The older woman crossed the kitchen quickly and gave Callie a hug. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Callie hugged her back. "You too, ma'am"

"Oh please, it's Dana. I hear enough ma'ams with this one." She jerked her shoulder at Daniel Robbins who was now seated at the kitchen's bar drinking a lemonade. He smiled and 'humphed' in response.

Callie smiled nervously wishing very strongly that she had come up with some sort of plan rather than improving this. Glancing back at the porch she could just barely see the top of a blonde head. She was frozen in the kitchen unsure of what to do. But before she realized it, she was being handed two glasses filled with lemonade.

"Here, darling. I was just coming in to grab us some lemonades. But now that you're here… Well, you can take it to her." Dana Robbins grinned as if this all was happening just the way she planned.

Callie nodded and stared at the back porch for a moment before Dana nudged her towards the door with an encouraging smile on her face.

Callie walked towards the door with glasses in hand and pushed it open. She walked up behind Arizona and placed her glass of lemonade on the table next to her.

"Thanks Mo—"

She stopped talking when she saw the hand still holding onto the glass. The black finger nail polish was not what she expected to see. She spun around fast in her chair to look up at the woman who had been on her mind nonstop for the past few days.

"Calliope?"

So what did you gals (and guys?) think! After all this babymamadrama is over on the show, I want to meet Arizona's family. How awesome would it be for Callie to get a little taste of life in the Robbins' family.

I've gotta say that as much as 6x21 depressed me (and we all knew it was coming) I'm glad that Shonda keeps the fangirls from going insane with her tweets of comfort. :)


	7. Ch 7: The Seattle Grace Lesbian Mafia

**Title:** Abandoning Ship (7/7)

**Author:** DrMcPerky (LJ & FF)

**Rating:** PG-13

**Pairing:** Callie/Arizona

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

**Summary:** Callie learns the truth about Arizona's past and drives to Portland to talk to her about it. And there is mention of the Seattle Grace Lesbian Mafia. :)

**A/N:** Well ladies and gents. This is the last actual chapter of this story and I am sad but also relieved that my first fanfic is over! I mentioned in chapter 6 that I was contemplating doing an epilogue and I'm pretty sure that's going to happen but will take a little longer than these updates have taken, so fair warning. So (in a way) this isn't the end!

A/N 2: What Callie says to Arizona at the end is based on the lyrics to Absence of Your Company by Kim Richey, a beautiful song that keeps playing in my head since 6.21. I have used some of the phrasing from the song and want to credit it properly as such. You can download the song on iTunes if you like it. It's a lovely song.

A/N 3: SGLM: There's a flashback in here that I've been DYING to write. It was so short though that I couldn't make it it's own fic so I decided to put it in here. It may not seem quite like the most opportune moment for it, but nevertheless I just had to share it. And I may write a Seattle Grace Lesbian Mafia fic series for fun over the summer hiatus, but I'm looking for people who want to each write a chapter of it. If you're interested, leave me a comment at my LJ: drmcperky. It'll be fun!

* * *

Their eyes connected for the first time in several days.

"Calliope?"

Arizona Robbins looked up at Calliope Torres. While she had been expecting her mother to be the one returning with lemonade, she certainly was not expecting to see the Orthopedic Surgeon who had taken such a strong hold over her heart.

Arizona's mouth hung open for several seconds in surprise. She was looking at Calliope almost as if she could not believe she was there.

"Is it ok that I'm here?" Callie ventured softly, afraid that speaking above a whisper would make her an unwelcome intrusion.

"How did you—When did you--?" Arizona was very confused. She knew that Callie had never been to her house and was sure that she didn't even know where it was. _And she walked to the patio from inside the kitchen? Didn't my parents see a random woman walking through their house?_

Calliope moved around the table to face Arizona who was still seated in the patio chair. She stood in front of the blonde and took a deep breath.

"Look. I know that you probably don't want me here right now and I get that but I can't sleep, Arizona." Calliope could feel her lip trying to quiver but she fought off the emotion that was beginning to swell up inside of her.

"Calli—" The blonde began to interject but Callie lifted a hand as if to silence her from a distance.

"No, Arizona I need to say this. You may get mad at me, you may get mad at Teddy and Mark, I don't know. But I've gotta say this to you."

Arizona's face dropped a little at the mention of Teddy. She looked suddenly sad and Callie thought she could detect a tiny bit of guilt as the blonde dropped her head a little to look at her own hands playing in her lap.

"I know… about Jeremiah." Arizona pressed her eyes closed tightly. Callie hurriedly continued before she lost her nerve.

"Teddy told me." Calliope continued quickly when the blonde's head popped up at this knowledge. "She didn't mean to, so please don't get mad at her. Mark kinda made her." Arizona eyebrows raised and Callie realized that revealing Mark's knowledge of Arizona's past too wasn't really helping either. "That was an accident 'cause Teddy accidentally misspoke while…You know what, that's not important."

Calliope lowered herself to her knees in front of Arizona. "Arizona, I love you and I am so sorry for what happened to you. I wish that you had told me so I could be there for you. So that I could work through this with you." Callie began to lose the fight against her lip trembling. "But I understand why you didn't tell me. And I understand why you don't want to… be with me anymore."

Callie dropped her head down and cupped her face in her hands rubbing her eyes in preparation for what she was about to say.

"Arizona, I have been so lost these last few days. Day and night run together. I'm going through surgeries on auto pilot. My bed is cold and unwelcome without you in it and food just doesn't taste the same.

I know I told you that I would fight for you and that's because I love you more than anyone I have ever loved in my life. And it's so weird that I can honestly say that. But, I realized that if this is what you want, if this is what will make you happy then well, then I need to hear you actually say it."

Callie was very obviously fighting tears as she searched Arizona's face for any hint or sign of doubt. "If you can say that you don't love me. Look me in the eye and sound convincing when you say you won't miss me… then I will walk away. If you truly do believe that you are better off without me, then that's how you should be. I love you Arizona Robbins and I would do anything for you. And if that means that I have to let you go, then I will. If you say the words."

Calliope inhaled deeply and let the tears she had been holding back run down her face. She held her breath as she watched the petite blonde woman in front of her, waiting for a clue as to what would happen next.

Before Callie knew it, Arizona lips were molded with her own. Her small but skilled fingers holding Callie's face firmly as she used her actions to convey her feelings.

Almost a minute later, Arizona felt the need for air pull her away from their kiss. She rested her head on Calliope's and listened for a moment to their labored breathing.

"Calliope…" She could feel the confused Ortho's sharp intake of breath in preparation for what she was about to say. "I am … so sorry." Calliope's shoulders relaxed a little but her eyebrows pinched together slightly. Arizona could tell that Calliope had not expected that response, but she continued.

"I have something I need to tell you and I don't care if Teddy told you 'cause that doesn't matter. What matters is that you hear it from me." She paused as if doubtful of her next words. "Then, we can have this talk that we've been skirting around and running away from the right way."

Arizona motioned Callie over to the chair previously occupied by her mother, "You may want to pull that over here and sit down."

Calliope nodded silently and dragged the large (and very loud) piece of patio furniture so that she was facing Arizona. When she had settled, she reached out to take the blonde's hand.

"I was engaged a long time ago to a woman named Olivia back in Boston. We were very much in love and were committed to each other." Arizona could tell that Calliope was trying her best to look supportive on the outside but a little bit of fear could be seen in her eyes by those who knew her. "So we decided to have a baby. Well, we decided that _she_ was going to have … _my_ baby." Arizona paused, feeling a slight lump in her throat. Mentally, she fought it off and, gulping hard, continued. "His name was Jeremiah Daniels Robbins. He … died. In labor. 'Liv almost died too."

Arizona stopped to take a moment and fought off the tears threatening to fall. She felt Callie squeeze her hand and give a tiny smile, encouraging her on. There was a brightness and a love and a compassion in her eyes that caused Arizona to pause. She, for the first time in several days, felt her heart swell. It was the same feeling she had when she had first seen Calliope at the hospital. She had been having lunch with the jokingly, self-titled Seattle Grace Lesbian Mafia (consisting of all the lesbian nurses and doctors who would congregate and date amongst themselves with the same fervor that the Grey crowd did + a few of the gay men at SGH) when she saw her walk through the doors.

* * *

Seated at a table near the food line was a group of female doctors and nurses (and a couple male nurses and doctors as well), chatting and eating during their lunch breaks.

"So I hear we have fresh meat at the hospital," Ryann , one of Arizona's new favorite nurses, said.

Two of the gay male nurses who had previously been in an animated discussion whirled around quickly to face the nurse. At the same time, they said, "Oh my god, who?" Before anyone could get in a giggle to acknowledge the jinx, they continued, interchanging their questions between each other,

"Nurse? I saw several new nurses come in the other day."

"No, it's gotta be a surgeon. Ryann doesn't get that excited unless it's a BIG one either." The two male nurses laughed at their innuendo. Ryann sneered at them and threw a roll across the table, smacking one of them right in the face at which point everyone began to laugh and continued trying to one up each other.

Arizona laughed too - she had to admit to herself that it was funny, that this group was pretty fun. A little too … talkative for her tastes but they weren't mean spirited and they were damn good at their jobs. She was glad that she was friends with them, glad that Ryann had recruited her to the group after Arizona had revealed her orientation to her. That was something that would never change about Arizona. No matter where she was or who she was with, she never lied about that.

At that moment, Arizona broke her daydream and looked up and saw the most beautiful and sexiest woman she had ever seen walk through the cafeteria doors. She felt her heart flutter and her body go numb for a moment.

_That woman is stunning._

She let herself daydream for a moment before it quickly died. The Latina woman had walked in with a tall and very manly man surgeon. Arizona kicked herself under the table, wondering for a second if her gaydar must be off.

"SHE's the one."

Arizona snapped her head back to Ryann, "Excuse me?"

Ryann pointed at the tan brunette who was now walking through the cafeteria line with the aforementioned manly man, "The fresh meat? I don't know much about her except that she's Ortho and she was married to O'Malley." The two male nurses turned towards her at the mention of Dr. George O'Malley and swooned.

Ryann rolled her eyes at them and laughed then continued, "ANYWAYS," she paused for effect, "SHE's the one who was with Hahn." Ryann looked at Arizona for some semblance of recognition, but got none.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Arizona, I forget you don't know who these people are. Erica Hahn was an extraordinary but hardass cardio attending - straight for all intensive purposes," she leaned into Arizona, "although if you ask us, we knew from the get go she was a big ol' lez," she snorted as she leaned back smiling, "turns out, we were right, as usual. So, I don't have all the details yet but SHE and Erica? They were an item."

Arizona questioned, "were?"

At this point one of the male nurses leaned in, "Yep. Were. Apparently, Hahn left and didn't even say goodbye to her. No one really knows why Hahn left, though… There are different stories."

But Arizona had stopped listening after 'yep.' She had only one question left on her mind.

"So she's … single?"

She tried to look as innocently as possible at the rest of the group. Afterall, they barely knew her yet.

Ryann, whose big, ginormous grin told Arizona that she had failed, merely replied with:

"Yep."

* * *

Arizona looked deeply into the brunette's chocolate brown eyes and realized something. _I fell in love with her at first sight._

"I didn't want to tell you about him because I thought I would never be able to move on from his death and I love you so much that I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want you to fight for me because I didn't know if I could let myself do that to you, keep you from a chance at having a child." One tear dropped onto her cheek. Callie reached up and wiped it away with her thumb, leaving her hand there holding her face. Arizona continued.

"I have always wanted kids, Calliope. Since I can remember, I've always wanted a child to love as my own. And when I got that, I fell in love at first sight." She paused and gave a tiny smile. "But, it was taken away from me just as quickly and I was heartbroken. And I was afraid to ever let that happen again." Arizona looked at the beautiful, stunning Dr. Torres and for the first time Callie saw the light back in Arizona's bright blue eyes.

"But then I saw you and I fell in love with you at first sight and… I … never thought that could happen again. But it did. With you." Arizona brought Calliope's hand up to her face and kissed the back of her hand. "And then I realized that if I could love someone as much as I loved Jeremiah, then they must be worth fighting for."

Arizona looked at Calliope and hoped she understood what she was saying. Callie spoke very quietly, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Arizona smiled and tilted her head slightly to the side. Her lips gently brushed Calliope's. She could feel the warmth of Callie's lips and her muscles tensing at the surprise.

_Just like when I kissed her at Joe's._

She pulled away from the stunned Orthopedic surgeon and reached out her hand slightly, "Hi, Arizona Robbins. Pediatric Surgeon, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, likes sangria, long walks on the beach, chickens, donuts, has authority issues, loves a certain badass orthopedic surgeon…wants kids." She smiled slightly at that last part. She saw the ever-growing smile breaking out all over Calliope's face.

"Really?" Calliope had tears dripping down over her smile.

Arizona nodded, her own smile growing.

Calliope took Arizona's hand and, "Dr. Calliope Iphegenia Torres. Orthopedia surgeon. Loves to cook, likes to wear black fingernail polish, wants kids, and is completely and shamelessly head over heels in love with a certain, perky & blonde pediatric surgeon… and wants to ask a question. "

Arizona felt overwhelmed with love for the Brunette in front of her. She nodded to Calliope to continue, staying within this little game they were playing. But Callie was not, she reached out and took Arizona's hands and held them in her her own.

"Arizona Robbins, will you marry me?"

Arizona's jaw dropped for a split second as emotion rushed out from her, "Yes. Calliope, yes." The both reached up and pulled each other into a kiss, ending it wrapped in each other's arms.

* * *

Dana Robbins watched the scene through her kitchen window before her, a smile emerging on her face. She returned to preparing for the dinner she was expecting them to have, humming lightly.

Daniel looked up from the newspaper he was reading and looked curiously at his wife, "Well?"

Dana bounced over to her husband (as much as a 60 year old woman can bounce) and plopped a kiss on his forehead, her dimples shining.

"Set out another place at the table dear, I think we'll be having another guest for dinner."

* * *

**So I'd like to thank all of you for reading and reviewing. I hope you all enjoyed the story. I really would like to see Arizona "bend" on the show at some point and come back to Callie screaming, "Let's have babies!" Yep. I think that would make me happy.**

**So do you all think they'll get back together by the end of the season finale or we'll have to suffer the long LONG summer with callie and arizona broken up (which will make me a very sad panda)?**

**Remember to stay tuned for an epilogue but it won't be for a couple weeks (unless the bug bites). :D**


	8. Epilogue: Happily Ever After

**A/N**: This is my secret little calzona fantasy. :D Also, although this is the epilogue for Abandoning Ship, I'm also considering using this in the sequel to AS somehow. (If I write it! So let me know if you like this, I'll be more likely to do a sequel. Hehe.)

**A/N 2**: And I realize this isn't a typical "And they lived happily ever after" type of epilogue. I intended it to be more of a snapshot of a moment in their future that shows all is well. :)

* * *

"Oooooh…. Yeah. Yep, that's not happening." Calliope put down the cooler she was attempting to lift out of the back of their new SUV.

"Calliope Iphegnia Torres, you should not be picking that up and you know better!" The blonde pediatric surgeon came around the new black Audi Q7 they had just bought and pulled the offending cooler out onto her parent's driveway followed by their suitcases.

"Arizona, I really don't understand why you felt the need to bring all of this. Really, your mom's fridge is always stocked and it's not like I need a ton of these Diet Peach Snapple Iced Tea thingys anyways, although they are REALLY good. I'm sure she's got other non-alcoholic beverages for me to drink. Right?"

Arizona didn't turn around or acknowledge Callie's assurances.

"Your Mom's always prepared for everything. I mean, after you called her and told her, she probably went out and bought way too much stuff, just like you do…. Arizona?"

The blonde slowly turned around and very sheepishly looked up at Calliope whose face immediately dropped in horror.

"Don't tell me you didn't tell them…"

Arizona pursed her lips and with a huge smile on her face, merely said, "I love you?"

"Arizona!"

"Calliope, I just.. I MEANT to tell them, really I did. But, I just wanted to make sure everything was going well, that you both were perfectly healthy and… I chickened out."

Calliope shook her head, not believing what they were about to walk into. Arizona continued, "My mom has a tendency to… uh… overreact to things. I mean, she gets really excited. REALLY excited about stuff like this." She smiled a big dimply smile and nodded as if that would make Calliope feel better.

"So you thought springing this on them would be a …what…a more calming experience?"

Arizona opened her mouth to speak but was interrupting by the screen door slamming and the familiar sing song voice of Dana Robbins, "Where are my beautiful girls! Momma needs a hug!"

Calliope and Arizona turned and looked at each other with eyes as wide as saucers. Quickly, Arizona turned and grabbed their spare blanket from the car, bunched it up and shoved into Calliope's arms. Wordlessly communicating to the orthopedic surgeon to use it as a cover up. Calliope shook her head in protest, unsure of what to do. Their frantic moment was interrupted as Dana came down the driveway and popped around the other side of the car.

"Darlings! Come give me a hug! Oh, it's so good to see you." Arizona and Callie were pulled into a big group hug by the matriarch of the Robbins family with Callie gripping onto the blanket like there was no tomorrow.

"How was the trip? I've always loved the drive up to Seattle to come visit my favorite Seattle Grace Surgeons." She beamed at them, "And since when did you get a new car! I love it."

The younger Robbins glanced at Calliope for a second before answering, "Well, Mom, we uh… decided to upgrade. Really, the Crossfire was starting to get a little too small for us. So we traded it in for this."

For a moment, Dana was a little surprised, "But you loved that Crossfire and you have Callie's truck which despite it."

Arizona just smiled awkwardly and shrugged, "It's good to see you mom!" And pulled her into another hug. Callie watched the attempted diversion. They pulled apart and Dana turned to look at Callie.

"My darling, how are you doing? It feels like so long since I saw you two gals last. That must have been several months ago! You are looking positively radiant." And she reached out to hug Calliope whose face had gone from radiant to a deep red. She looked quickly over at Arizona with fearful anticipation as she leaned in to return the hug.

Dana hugged Calliope for a minute before slowly pulling back and looking at her with a strange look in her eye. Arizona looked at her mother and could see the wheels turning in her head.

"Let's get inside! This breeze is super chilly isn't it! Where's Daddy?" Arizona chimed in, picking up more than her fair share of bags and turning towards the door.

Callie stayed frozen to the spot where Dana was still inspecting her with her eyes. She laughed nervously, "I'll be right in honey, I'm gonna go grab the … rest of this stuff in the car." She pointed her free hand back at the car.

"Come on Mom. Let's go inside."

Dana stood for a second longer before following her daughter inside, leaving Callie outside to breathe a big sigh of relief.

Inside, Arizona had already dragged their suitcases upstairs and had left the cooler in the doorway of the kitchen. Dana made her way over to the cooler, certainly suspicious now and took a peak inside. Just as she noticed what the contents of the cooler contained, Arizona and Callie both appeared next to each other in the living room, blanket still in Callie's hand.

Dana looked up at the girls and squealed. The words were not decipherable. She ran up to Arizona and gave her a huge, smothering hug before turning to Callie and cradling her belly in her hands for a moment, then smothering her (lightly) with a hug. She had happy tears in her eyes.

"How have you not told me this?"

Arizona shrugged with a huge smile on her face. Callie was smiling now too – glad that the cat was out of the bag.

Dana brushed off her previous comment with a wave of her hand, "How far along are you? Do you know what the sex is yet? Do you have a name?" The smile on her face made her dimples shine, matching her daughter's. Arizona was right, Dana Robbins was really excited. Quite excited if the pitch of her squealing had any bearing on the measurement.

Arizona answered for Callie, "four and a half months. And we just went for an ultrasound on Thursday and we're not sure of the sex yet." She looked at Callie and smiled. Callie looked down at her hands and Arizona barely had time to notice the evasion.

"Well, I was waiting for the right time to tell you. Addison called early this morning while you were getting our stuff in the car. She looked at the ultrasound video again and…." Callie paused as her eyes started to tear up a little, reached for Arizona's hands and immediately began playing with her wedding band.

"It's a boy."

Arizona's shoulders completely relaxed for a second as her eyes too began to tear up. She looked at Calliope's face where a happy tear was falling down her cheek and landed on her growing smile. She shook her head in disbelief and happy surprise.

"It's… a boy?" Arizona barely choked out before her own tears were falling down her cheeks. Callie nodded, reaching out for Arizona's hands but getting a face full of blonde hair in a huge hug instead. Then the squealing started. And it was in surround sound.

The front door opened and slammed shut several seconds later, revealing a surprised-but-not-so-surprised Col. Daniel Robbins, fire wood in hand.

"Well, I haven't heard THAT in a while. What's the occasion?"

Dana Robbins broke their silence,

"We're Pregnant!"

Arizona and Callie laughed at her enthusiastic response before looking back to see a very confused Colonel.

Callie raised her hand and said (in typical Callie fashion), "Well, it's me. I'm the ACTUAL pregnant one."

And with that, the two blondes started squeeing again before all four of them were hugging and heading towards the kitchen.

Arizona grabbing a Diet Peach Snapple for Callie on the way, "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

**The End! It was short and sweet. Hope you liked it! Comments are love. Remember, I may write a sequel for this. Something to do for fun while we wait for next season. **


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